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‘It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime’ Jennifer Lawrence breaks silence on naked photo theft

07 Oct 2014

Jennifer Lawrence has finally broken her silence on the recent leak of naked photographs she sent a partner which were stolen and leaked on website 4Chan.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, the 24-year-old Oscar winner broke her silence for the first time on the theft which has affected many young Hollywood stars including Winona Ryder and Mary-Kate Olsen.

Understandingly furious at the theft of her personal photos, the star said “Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this. It does not mean that it comes with the territory.

She continued “It’s my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting.

I can’t believe that we even live in that kind of world. It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime. It is a sexual violation. It’s disgusting. The law needs to be changed, and we need to change.

That’s why these Web sites are responsible. Just the fact that somebody can be sexually exploited and violated, and the first thought that crosses somebody’s mind is to make a profit from it. It’s so beyond me. I just can’t imagine being that detached from humanity. I can’t imagine being that thoughtless and careless and so empty inside.”

The actress said she had attempted to respond to the leak sooner but had been so distressed she had not felt able to. “Every single thing that I tried to write made me cry or get angry. I started to write an apology, but I don’t have anything to say I’m sorry for.

She also appeared to confirm the pictures were originally sent to ex-boyfriend Nicholas Hoult, saying “I was in a loving, healthy, great relationship for four years. It was long distance, and either your boyfriend is going to look at porn or he’s going to look at you.”

Jennifer went on to say that she is not pinning hope on the perpetrators being found “Time does heal, you know. I’m not crying about it anymore. I can’t be angry anymore. I can’t have my happiness rest on these people being caught, because they might not be. I need to just find my own peace."

Jennifer appears on this month's Vanity Fair cover

And to those who have looked at the pictures she had a strong message “Anybody who looked at those pictures, you’re perpetuating a sexual offense. You should cower with shame. Even people who I know and love say, ‘Oh, yeah, I looked at the pictures.’ I don’t want to get mad, but at the same time I’m thinking, I didn’t tell you that you could look at my naked body.”